Dolph had been right to be suspicious of the new girl. What business could she possibly have here at Khafre Hall?
With her arms wrapped around her, pinning her in place, Jianyu could practically hear her thinking. Her whole body had gone tense and ready to fight, and he was not so stupid as to underestimate her. He’d seen the way she’d dispensed of Murphy, and he didn’t doubt she had something equally unpleasant in mind for him. She was no innocent, fresh off the boat and adrift in a dangerous city. She was too well trained.
“Unless you want Dolph to know of this, be still,” he whispered.
The girl hesitated, but a moment later the fight went out of her, enough that he could guide her down the street, away from the watching eyes of Khafre Hall. The moment they were around the corner, he let go of the light and revealed himself.
He didn’t release her arm, though.
“You followed me?” she asked, eyeing him.
“Did you expect you wouldn’t be watched? Dolph Saunders doesn’t trust easily, and for good reason, it appears. Why did you come here?”
“I was going for a walk,” she said flatly. “It’s a beautiful day.”
“So you took a stroll in front of Khafre Hall?” he asked, amused.
Her mouth went tight, but she didn’t answer. ?Yes, she was well trained indeed to keep so composed when she’d clearly been caught red-handed. She had to know that lies would be pointless now.
“Why aren’t you still working? The sun is barely at midday.”
“I’m done,” she said.
It didn’t seem to be a lie, but she hadn’t been downtown long enough to be finished. Especially without magic. He’d followed her, concealing himself carefully, and he hadn’t so much as sensed a whisper of her affinity. “Your quota was thirty-five dollars. That’s more than most men make in a month,” he said.
“I can show you my purse if you don’t believe me. But you’ll have to let me go so I can get to it.” She glanced up at him, a sly look in her eyes. “It’s under my skirts.”
“It doesn’t explain why you’re here, at the Order’s hall,” he said, not taking the bait.
Her expression was steady. “I wanted to see it for myself.”
“Why?” he pressed, not yet sensing a lie.
“Don’t you want to know your enemy?” she asked.
“The Order, you see them as your enemy?”
“You don’t?” She threw the question back at him.
But Jianyu didn’t answer. He didn’t owe her his story. “I’m going to release you, and then we are going to return to the Bella Strega.”
“You’ll tell Dolph about what happened, won’t you?” she asked, frowning.
“Not if you come quietly.” ?When surprise bunched her expression, he explained. “I find it to be more beneficial at this moment to have you in my debt.”
“I’m not sure I want to be in your debt.”
He inclined his head. “An astute observation. Feel free to tell Dolph yourself, then, about how you wandered off from your assigned post and were almost caught by a member of the Order outside Khafre Hall.”
From the look on her face, he knew it would never happen.
“Of course, you could try to fight me, or you could attempt to run off. In that case, I will tell Dolph everything. You will not be in my debt, but you will also never be safe in this city again. Not with Dolph Saunders and his people looking for you.”
She frowned. “I don’t like being threatened.”
“No one does,” he told her. “Though if you truly mean us no harm, my words pose no threat.”
Her expression was still shuttered and angry, but also intelligent. He could tell the moment she understood she had very little choice. “Fine,” she said sourly.?“I’m Esta, by the way. You should probably know my name if you plan on blackmailing me.”
He let go of her arm. “I am Jianyu Lee. And I already knew your name.”
Esta frowned, looking down at her wrist as though she expected to find some mark. “Great. Glad we got that cleared up,” she muttered. Glancing up at him, she made a small flourish with her hand. “Well, what are we waiting for? Lead the way.”
? ? ?
When they arrived back at the Strega, Dolph Saunders was sitting in his usual place in the back of a full barroom. Jianyu knew the crowd wasn’t there to drink, though.
He sensed the girl’s curiosity as she watched the men and women approach Dolph’s table, one by one.
It wasn’t an unfamiliar scene in the poorest neighborhoods. All of the gang bosses traded in favors and kept their people in line through their debts. Jianyu’s uncle, at least in name, often held court in a similar way. On Mott Street, Tom Lee collected bribe money to keep the police away from fan-tan dealers and to provide protection from the Hip Sing highbinders. It was only a small part of the life of Chinatown, but it was one Jianyu knew too well. And one he hated.
He’d come to this country, to this city, because Lee promised him a better future than he’d had in his own country, but he’d arrived to find that Lee had smuggled him into the country not to help him but to use him. With his affinity for light, he could make himself impossible to see, which meant he could strike without warning. But he hadn’t left his home, his mother, and everything else behind to be a mercenary for a common criminal like Tom Lee.
Jianyu still didn’t know how much he approved of Dolph Saunders’ methods, but it was clear that he was different from Tom Lee. ?The people filling the Strega weren’t like those his uncle exploited. They came hat in hand, each with the same stoop to their shoulders that made them look as though they were perpetually carrying some invisible burden. Each would speak with Dolph for a few moments, usually some plea to find a son or for help with their rent or for relief from some other burden.
Debts came due, certainly, but at least Jianyu was never asked to collect on them.
After a minute Dolph looked up and saw them standing at the back of the room. He said something to Nibs, who got up and started making his way through the crowded barroom.
Nibs nodded a silent greeting to Jianyu before turning his attention to the girl.
“You’re done already?” he asked, doubtful.
The girl maneuvered her hand through a concealed slit in her skirts and pulled out a small purse. Nibs opened the parcel and thumbed through its contents before lifting his gaze to Dolph and giving him a slight nod.
“I’ll take her from here,” Nibs told Jianyu.
He bristled at the dismissal but didn’t argue. Let them believe him to be obedient. It made it that much easier to know where each of Dolph’s crew stood, to know whom to trust. And to file away their secrets for when he might need them.
FOUNDATION WORK
The boy who had dismissed Jianyu was young, with light hair and thick, round spectacles perched on the tip of his thin nose. “They call me Nibs,” he said, extending his hand. “Nibsy Lorcan.”